How to search jobs by keywords on the Microsoft Careers site
As most of you know by now, there are thousands of job postings on the Microsoft Careers site. It can be more than overwhelming to look through all of them and find just the right one.
Some attempt to look by selecting only Job Titles, Job Categories or Products. Selecting a title or product category can definitely be beneficial to narrowing down your job search, especially if you know the exact Microsoft product you would like to work on. But some of our emerging products are not yet listed in the drop-down fields. There might be some very interesting groups that you are qualified to work for that you have yet to hear about!
The same thing goes with titles: They don’t always translate from company to company. If you rely on titles alone, you could be missing out on some really interesting opportunities.
So, take a few moments, think about what it is that you do in your current position (or what you aspire to do at Microsoft) and create a list of keywords. If you are interested in Server Technology, think about all the things that can encompass (SQL, security, routers, etc.) or Game Development (entertainment, automation, graphics, Xbox, etc.).
Once your list of keywords is ready, enter them into the optional Keywords search field (found below the Job Titles and Job Categories menus) and see what you come up with! An added tip: after you get your search results from entering keywords, sort by Title or Category. You never know what you might find that could be of interest and a great fit for your skills!
Happy hunting!
-Angela
3 Comments
BlogMS Weekly Articles Published – 13th April to 19th April said:
237 Microsoft Team blogs searched, 109 blogs have new articles in the past 7 days. 245 new articles found
Cade Krueger said:
Some job postings are so general that you can be left not knowing what you might be applying for and other can be so specific that you'll never be able to find it even in a detailed search. I like what you said about coming up with keywords to figure out your job interests.
Other than searching keywords, what are the other ways to optimize your job search? Are there more strategies?
Angela - JobsBlog said:
I agree about the generalities of the job descriptions in some cases. Many times when the position descriptions are so general - it is a good idea to apply if there is general interest on your part. If you catch the eye of the recruiter, while meeting the basic qualifications, you can gather MORE info during the next steps of the application process (which would be email screens, phone screens etc).
The other ways to optimize would be really thinking about what groups &/or projects you are most interested in and doing a keyword search on JUST those terms.